ROSEMONT – The votes are in and the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) has chosen the Rambler softball team the winner of the team sportsmanship award for softball. “This year’s team treated everyone with respect and showed a tremendous amount of character,” said head coach Joe Long. “I'm very proud of the girls.”

This is the inaugural year of the team sportsmanship awards. Each season, a team from every sport is given the sportsmanship award. All teams in the conference in that sport vote for teams that have shown “good sportsmanship, based on the ideals of the PAC and its Code of Conduct.” The team with the most votes wins the award.

“It's a great honor to know that we not only work hard for each other, but our comradery shines through to the other teams,” said junior Abigail Schwartz (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial).

“I'm surprised that we won this award,” adds junior co-captain Tammy Do (Philadelphia, Pa./Maria Gorretti). “It shows that all of our efforts and positive attitudes throughout the season did not go unnoticed.”

This year’s softball team had a lot of obstacles to overcome starting with numbers and inexperience. With only two players returning from the previous year’s squad, the team was comprised of new players that either had not played in awhile or had not played ever. Still, as the season progressed, it became evident that while the idea of a winning season in terms of record and stats would not be likely, the team would work hard to improve game to game and stay focused and dedicated.

“We were always proud of how our team performed,” said sophomore Alex Benfold (Cherry Hill, N.J./Bishop Eustace). “We learned so much with each new game and experience.”

Though most games were tough and one-sided, the players stuck together and showed determination and character as well as respect for their own teammates, opponents and fans. Never getting down on themselves, the team focused on small goals and by the end of the season had improved tremendously.

“We were told several times from our coach about how much character we have and how we are truly a team which really made us feel good,” adds senior Kaitlin Rogers (Philadelphia, Pa./Bartram).

Congratulations to the softball team on winning the award. To learn more about the team and Rosemont Athletics, please visit our website at www.rosemont.edu/athletics.